Lesco Transition Blend or Tri-Gold.
Paid $50 for 50 lbs in Hickory.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lesco/John Deere Landscapes

Scott,

If you are losing Fescue in Western NC where summers are relatively mild, then it is not the heat that's killing the grass, it is the lack of water.

You are on a slope that's steep, you don't water during the summer, and want traffic tolerance as well?

NO grass will ever stand a chance under those conditions, you need to set your expectations right.

Most Turfgrasses are drought "tolerant" not drought survival. Water is the basic need of all living things, grass is no exception.

Do a cost analisys: cost of seed per year, plus watering during the summer months, times the number of years you are going to be a the property vs the cost of Astroturf.

I'm in Raleigh, where our summers are warmer and longer than in Western NC, yet, Perennial Ryegrass survives here with irrigation or timely rainfall from mother nature.

Perennial Ryegrass has the least tolerance of heat of almost any cool season grass.

Your problem is water, not heat.

Any slope is a chanllenge, specially when it has to rely on mother nature for water.

You can try the new Hybrid Bluegrasses, they have very well docummented drought tolerance due to the grass' avility to go dormant, but with traffic on it, it will die, too.

In the summer of 2006, in late August, my Kentucky Bluegrass lawn went dormant for 3 weeks due to lack of water. Temperatures where in the low 90's almost every day. I was out of town and could not water, so nature took its course.

When I came back, the lawn was semi-dormant. I water quickly and in a few days the grass started to turn green again, then the cool temperatures arrived in September and by the end of that month it fully green and growing again. However, it did suffer some Grub damage, but that was later fixed with some seed.

Where exactly in NC are you located?

Scott,
Given your situation, I don't think there is much you can do if you choose to not water--if indeed that is the problem. I can't speak for Western NC, but the Piedmont area has received plenty of rainfall all Spring and Summer. I have only watered three or four times for the summer with my bermuda. Perhaps you could go with a KBG to blend with your remaining TTTF? KBG is a little tougher than Fescue, and might resist dry/hot Carolina summers a little better. I honestly don't think it is worth kicking out the big bucks for some sort of special blend if your not going to water it. Just go with the cheap big box store stuff which is usually in the $20 to $50 range. Good luck friend.

TTTF is often touted as being drought hardy. It can stay green longer than KBG, but only if it has soil conditions that allow it to develop deep roots and only if there is water deep in the ground. If not, it can require even more water than KBG under similar conditions.

Another thing to consider is what happens when the grass does go brown. KBG turns brown as a defense mechanism. It goes dormant when there isn't enough water (sort of like hibernation) and snaps out when it gets water again. TTTF deals with a lack of water by trying to stay green as long as it can. Once it does go dormant, there's not a long time between going dormant and going dead.

Thanks to all for the feedback. I think I'll try to go back and mix in some KB. I just plugged and over seeded a week ago so I should be fine there. I know the problem w/ my yard is lack of water during the summer months. What happens is the clay gets dry & hard and then when it does rain it just runs off due to the ground being so hard. I wish I could water but it's more important to keep the family watered over the yard. In 2007 there was over 150 wells reported going dry in burke county, so I was concerned. The traffic I speak off is my 90lb lab, who thinks he's the boarder patrol of the yard.

Over a rolling calendar year I have about got my ph where it needs to be, IÂve put out 3800 lbs of palletized lime on the 1.5 acres.

Back to the KB.... Currently I have about a 15% mix of KB in my lawn that was here from when I bought the home in 1998, but I've never over seeded with it. So the prior owner may have been onto what would work the best.

What would be be best variety of KB to look into for extend periods od drought?

Thanks Scott

Don't buy regular/common Kentucky Bluegrass (Kenblue is one of them) get the Turf Type or Elites if you will. They are much better resistant to disease and heat. The old ones are probably more drought tolerant, but just a bit more and not enough to overlook at the benefits of the Elite-type Bluegrasses.

The best drought tolerant Bluegrass is going to be the Hybrid ones based on various University Studies. They can go about 40 days without water before they start to wilt.

Another option is to go with Turf Type (elite types) Perennial Ryegrass. The reason I say this is because if you are not going to water during the summer and your are going to lose some if not nearly all of your turf, then PRG is going to get to work MUCH faster than any bluegrass or Fescue. It germinates in 4 to 5 days, and 2 weeks later you're mowing - a week later you have sod. Dark green, dense, traffic tolerant, fine bladed, and nearly weed free. It establishes so fast that weeds don't have time to germinate.

As far as your clay soil becoming hard during droughts, that is accurate. If you let clay soil dry out completly, it can take several rainfall to get it wet and to hold water again. The key is not to let the soil dry out between rainfalls. I understand your situation with the well, but remember that the 2007 summer was as rare as an April snowfall in Raleigh...

Dogs can damage lawns very easely, specially if they dig it all the time. They usally like mark the perimeter of the property and create pathways in the process, which they use often. I hope it's not the case for you.

Click on the link below for info on Hybrid Bluegrasses:

It appears that Reveille is the most drought tolerant of the Hybrid Bluegrasses, it is also generically dark green.

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Picture was taken on August 12, 2009 at the NTEP site in Raleigh.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hybrid Bluegrasses

Click on the link below for info on Reveille Bluegrass:

Here is a link that might be useful: Reveille Bluegrass

1.5 acres ... never irrigating ... elite KBG?
That's sacrilegious!!!!!!

Throw some K-31 on the back 40, it's indestructible.

"Throw some K-31 on the back 40, it's indestructible.'

Yeah, that's what makes it so good and so bad. The problem with K31 is that it's tough to completely kill, but some will die, so it gets patchy in a hurry. I don't think it's a particularly attractive grass, but on a large area like that with no watering, it might be a good option, as long as you're willing to overseed regularly. Since it grows faster than KBG and other tall fescues, I think I'd be inclined to go all or none with it. If it's mixed in, it sticks out like a sore thumb.